Bligh moves to overhaul flood relief

Premier Anna Bligh has recognised the unfairness of the flood-relief means test.

Bradley Kanaris, file photo: Getty Images

In the face of mounting criticism, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has announced moves to overhaul the way disaster relief payments are distributed.

Residents in flood-stricken regions say that after four months, they have seen little of the $250 million in public donations.

In response, Ms Bligh has told Parliament she is working to speed up the process and has opened the door to those who have failed to meet the controversial means test.

The means test has left many asset-rich residents without a house or flood-relief funding.

This was the case for Don Walmsley and Mary King, whose retirement home was destroyed when floodwaters swept through the Lockyer Valley town of Grantham in January.

Mr Walmsley had poured his superannuation into the home.

"We only had a week to go before the house was finished and moved in and then the floods hit. Well, that totally destroyed everything didn't it?" he said.

But when he asked for help from the disaster relief appeal he was knocked back.

"When they looked up they said, 'you've got another house, you can't do that'," Mr Walmsley said.

"I said, 'well, technically I haven't because it belongs to my mother. We weren't living at the house, we didn't pay for the house, it's just something that would be left over to us'. And when they looked into it again, well, that's how it happened from then on."

But Mr Walmsley said he was facing the prospect of getting no disaster relief and having no house.

"We'd been refused twice," he said.

But Premier Anna Bligh has recognised the unfairness and changed the rules.

"I ordered an immediate review of that case on Friday. Today I am pleased to announce that this couple will receive $93,000 under the new arrangements for round two funding," she said.

But Mr Walmsley says there are other people who need help.

"I appreciate it and absolutely thank her for it, I will thank her for it," he said.

"[But] I would like her to come back to Grantham again, and ... with people like myself, in the same situation, and sit down and really look at their cases. People that can't get [the flood funding] because of a technicality, the same as what I got," he said.

Many residents in the Lockyer Valley disagree with the means test, including Grantham town committee member Marty Warburton.

"It's one thing to be asset rich, but at the moment if you were one of the lucky ones and you owned your house outright and you had a rental house as well, on a piece of paper at the time they were probably worth $300,000 - $350,000 each.

"But you try and sell that same house now, for the same price, you know. So, you try to sell that to get some cash assets in to help you out in this time, nothing's selling at the moment. So it's a catch-22 isn't it?"

The so-called summer of disasters in Queensland resulted in some of the largest acts of generosity the country has seen. The Premier's Disaster Relief Fund has reached $260 million.

But only $70 million has found its way to flood victims, leading to frustration and, perhaps, political disaster for the Premier herself.

Many people have received the initial $2,000 emergency payments but only 190 applications have been approved for the major funding of up to $100,000.

In Parliament, Ms Bligh said she recognised the pace needs to quicken.

"We are genuinely focused on getting this money out to the people who need it. So people can get on with jobs of rebuilding their lives," she said.

In addition to the introduction of compassionate grounds, Ms Bligh announced the maximum payment will rise from $100,000 to $150,000.

She has also asked the Master Builders Association and the Building Services Authority (BSA) to bring together teams of tradespeople.

"We know that in the implementation of these rounds, some people are incurring some, are meeting some hurdles. For example we know that people are having difficulty getting builders to quote," Ms Bligh said.

"That's why I've instructed the immediate engagement of a panel of Building Services Authority licensed builders to begin dedicated quoting services in a systematic way, in those areas of heightened demand where people are finding it difficult to get builders to meet [them]."

Yesterday BSA chief executive Ian Jennings went to Bundamba to speak to people about the assistance they need.

He is arranging for 15 builders to go to Bundamba to specifically assist people obtain the quotes they require. And similar arrangements will be put in place, on a needs basis, in those particularly high-hit suburbs.

Grantham Town Committee member Marty Warburton hopes the changes work.

"You know, give credit where credit is due. Even though it did take a while to get through to where it needed to, that what's happening isn't working. You know, give credit to Anna Bligh," he said.

"Finally, thanks to the media for showing what's happening on the ground. [Ms Bligh is] hopefully going to listen and try and get something implemented that will help the residents get a little normality back, back to their lives."